By Russell Conwell

In 1870 we went down the Tigris River. We hired a guide at Bagdad to show us Persepolis, Nineveh and Babylon, and the ancient countries of Assyria as far as the Arabian Gulf. He was well acquainted with the land, but he was one of those guides who love to entertain their patrons; he was like a barber that tells you many stories in order to keep your mind off the scratching and the scraping. He told me so many stories that I grew tired of his telling them and I refused to listen — looked away whenever he commenced; that made the guide quite angry.

I remember that toward evening he took his Turkish cap off his head and swung it around in the air. The gesture I did not understand and I did not dare look at him for fear I should become the victim of another story. But, although I am not a woman, I did look, and the instant I turned my eyes upon that worthy guide, he was off again. Said he, “I will tell you a story now which I reserve for my particular friends!” So then, counting myself a particular friend, I listened, and I have always been glad I did.

He said there once lived not far from the River Indus an ancient Persian by the name of Al Hafed. He said that Al Hafed owned a very large farm with orchards, grain fields and gardens. He was a contented and wealthy man — contented because he was wealthy, and wealthy because he was contented. One day there visited this old farmer one of those ancient Buddhist priests, and he sat down by Al Hafed’s fire and told that old farmer how this world of ours was made.

He said that this world was once a mere bank of fog, which is scientifically true, and he said that the Almighty thrust his finger into the bank of fog and then began slowly to move his finger around and gradually to increase the speed of his finger until at last he whirled that bank of fog into a solid ball of fire, and it went rolling through the universe, burning its way through other cosmic banks of fog, until it condensed the moisture without, and fell in floods of rain upon the heated surface and cooled the outward crust. Then the internal flames burst through the cooling crust and threw up the mountains and made the hills and the valleys of this wonderful world of ours. If this internal melted mass burst out and cooled very quickly it became granite; that which cooled less quickly became silver; and less quickly, gold; and after gold diamonds were made. Said the old priest, “A diamond is a congealed drop of sunlight.”

This is a scientific truth also. You all know that a diamond is pure carbon, actually deposited sunlight — and he said another thing I would not forget: he declared that a diamond is the last and highest of God’s mineral creations, as a woman is the last and highest of God’s animal creations. I suppose that is the reason why the two have such a liking for each other. And the old priest told Al Hafed that if he had a handful of diamonds he could purchase a whole country, and with a mine of diamonds he could place his children upon thrones through the influence of their great wealth.

Al Hafed heard all about diamonds and how much they were worth, and went to his bed that night a poor man — not that he had lost anything, but poor because he was discontented – because he thought he was poor. He said: “I want a mine of diamonds!” So he lay awake all night, and early in the morning sought out the priest.

Now I know from experience that a priest, when awakened early in the morning, is cross. He awoke that priest out of his dreams and said to him, “Will you tell me where I can find diamonds?” The priest said, “Diamonds? What do you want with diamonds?” “I want to be immensely rich,” said Al Hafed, “but I don’t know where to go.” “Well,” said the priest, “if you will find a river that runs over white sand between high mountains, in those sands you will always see diamonds.” “Do you really believe that there is such a river?” “Plenty of them, plenty of them; all you have to do is just go and find them, then you have them.” Al Hafed said, “I will go.” So he sold his farm, collected his money at interest, left his family in charge of a neighbour, and away he went in search of diamonds.

He began very properly, to my mind, at the Mountains of the Moon. Afterwards he went around into Palestine, then wandered on into Europe, and at last, when his money was all spent, and he was in rags, wretchedness and poverty, he stood on the shore of that bay in Barcelona, Spain, when a tidal wave came rolling in through the Pillars of Hercules and the poor, afflicted, suffering man could not resist the awful temptation to cast himself into that incoming tide, and he sank beneath its foaming crest, never to rise in this life again.

When that old guide had told me that very sad story, he stopped the camel I was riding and went back to fix the baggage on one of the other camels, and I remember thinking to myself, “Why did he reserve that for his particular friends?” There seemed to be no beginning, middle or end — nothing to it. That was the first story I ever heard told or read in which the hero was killed in the first chapter. I had but one chapter of that story and the hero was dead.

When the guide came back and took up the halter of my camel again, he went right on with the same story. He said that Al Hafed’s successor led his camel out into the garden to drink, and as that camel put its nose down into the clear water of the garden brook Al Hafed’s successor noticed a curious flash of light from the sands of the shallow stream, and reaching in he pulled out a black stone having an eye of light that reflected all the colors of the rainbow, and he took that curious pebble into the house and left it on the mantel, then went on his way and forgot all about it.

A few days after that, this same old priest who told Al Hafed how diamonds were made, came in to visit his successor, when he saw that flash of light from the mantel. He rushed up and said, “Here is a diamond — here is a diamond! Has Al Hafed returned?” “No, no; Al Hafed has not returned and that is not a diamond; that is nothing but a stone; we found it right out here in our garden.” “But I know a diamond when I see it,” said he; “that is a diamond!”

Then together they rushed to the garden and stirred up the white sands with their fingers and found others more beautiful, more valuable diamonds than the first, and thus, said the guide to me, were discovered the diamond mines of Golconda, the most magnificent diamond mines in all the history of mankind, exceeding the Kimberley in its value. The great Kohinoor diamond in England’s crown jewels and the largest crown diamond on earth in Russia’s crown jewels, which I had often hoped she would have to sell before they had peace with Japan, came from that mine, and when the old guide had called my attention to that wonderful discovery, he took his Turkish cap off his head again and swung it around in the air to call my attention to the moral.

Those Arab guides have a moral to each story, though the stories are not always moral. He said had Al Hafed remained at home and dug in his own cellar or in his own garden, instead of wretchedness, starvation, poverty and death — a strange land, he would have had “acres of diamonds” — for every acre, yes, every shovelful of that old farm afterwards revealed the gems which since have decorated the crowns of monarchs. When he had given the moral to his story, I saw why he had reserved this story for his “particular friends.” I didn’t tell him I could see it; I was not going to tell that old Arab that I could see it. For it was that mean old Arab’s way of going around such a thing, like a lawyer, and saying indirectly what he did not dare say directly, that there was a certain young man that day travelling down the Tigris River that might better be at home in America. I didn’t tell him I could see it.

This review might come as a shock, but I recently got myself the NEW BlackBerry Torch 9800. Being an Apple fanatic and committing my life to the Macintosh brand, I thought it would be only fair to try a new brand. The Android platform range was an option… But that would be like twins fighting over superiority. The Iphone 4 and Andriod range fall in the same fruit basket.

I really wanted to see if I can get a phone that fits all my requirements and be able to have the best of all worlds, that being: Looks, Apps, Mail/Messaging, Functionality/Usability, Durability, Performance, Social media and the FUN factor. This will also be criteria on my review.

So here goes……

Looks

iPhone

The first iPhone that was launched felt like a big bulky device compared to the stylish and then popular slim Nokia 8810. Those days are long gone and smart phones have evolved to be bulky and be part of our lifestyle. Iphone set the benchmark for all phones to follow. It definitely has the wow factor. The New Iphone 4 might have lost the plot with their squarish design but certainly looks good for the latter. iPhone gets a big 9/10 for its looks. A ten pointer was the reward but Iphone 4’s new look dropped the score by a wee bit.

BlackBerry

I have not followed or ever experienced any predecessors of the RIM products. That is probably a bad thing as I didn’t notice blackberry was such a big player due to its not so stylish range. Layman terms, UGLY.  The new BlackBerry Torch is a big improvement on its range but still not an iPhone. Unfortunately the points aren’t good and iPhone rocks the fashion show.
BlackBerry gets a humble 6/10 for looks.

Applications

iPhone

This would be a no-brainer and only one word comes to mind… Angry Birds. iPhone has certainly created a benchmark for all mobile platforms with their App Store. Price vs Quality is measured to perfection and stock, need I say more – stock is endless. Competitors need to do some out-of-the-box thinking to be able to match up against Apple.
App Store gets a mind blowing 8/10

BlackBerry

BlackBerry has entered the market with App World. I have not purchased any apps yet and have only played around with some of the freeware available. I must say, its not bad. I have noticed that its pricey and limited. Not sure if RIM has development issues, but surely something needs to be done. As for myself, I am all over the playing games and get bored more often than not with all parties applications.
BlackBerry gets a respectable 7/10

Mail/Messaging

iPhone

Mail Mail Mail… That’s definitely the reason why I cheated on Apple with my new “girl on the side”, BlackBerry. I tried using my Iphone with the office’s POP3 account, but it didn’t seem to work in a way that pleased me. My only solution was to use my iPad, which solved the problem. Never the less, I need a pocket-fitting device for my mails. iPhone was bad in bed when it comes to mail and this definitely senses why the corporate world prefers the RIM product. Text messaging had a level of satisfation but not enough to save the girl.
iPhone disappoints with a sad 4/10

BlackBerry

The girl-next-door just knows how to blow you away. BlackBerry’s mail system couldn’t be any better. Though I am only using the standard version, I will soon be upgrading to the enterprise edition. The emails deliver quicker to my device than to my Macbook, and like Ronald McDonald would say, “I’m lovin’ it”. Blackberry Messanger is also new to me, and I am still trying to get the hang of it, inviting friends etc. With RIM’s Server developement and BlackBerry’s opencap internet, it saves on your pocket as well. Text messages is very similar to the iPhone but has noticeably more enhanced features.
The lady next door gets a sniff at the top with an astounding 10/10.

Functionality/Usability

iPhone

The iPhone could arguably be the most user-friendly superphone on the market. Getting what you want and getting it instantly would describe it best. The simplistic architecture of its software creates no confusion and it just works. With that being said, I have played with the Samsung Galaxy and its Andriod platform has a lot to offer… I could be wrong and Android could have cracked the Apple formula and taken the top spot.
iPhone gets a 9/10 for its interface.

BlackBerry

I must admit – when I booted my BlackBerry for the very first time, I had a bit of a concern… Do I really want to learn how to operate a new device, do I really want to go through all the troubleshooting again? I had to stick to my guns and pull this through. They definitely don’t have a comparison against OS 4 on first impression but I can gladly say that I didn’t use the previous versions of Blackberry V5. Blackberry V6 is smooth and has a glimpse of OS technology. Enough said – its not an iPhone OS.
BlackBerry walks away on ice with a pass rate of 7/10.

Durability

iPhone

The iPhone 4 might not be my favourite-looking phone, but for a full-on touch screen and its alloy/metal casing, it certainly is durable.
iPhone meets the rock at 8/10.

BlackBerry

Blackberry has brought out the Torch with a multi-purpose sliding keyboard. It works well and provides you with a touch screen for on-the-go users. Whenever there are gears involved one couldn’t stop and feel like it is going to break at some time. Thus, the BlackBerry gets little kudo’s for its clever but breakable design.
Don’t break on me BABY 6/10.

Performance

iPhone

It has been a battle of the guns in the last couple of months between who will rule the roust on power when it comes to performance of all the superphones. iPhone 4 delivers a 1000GHz processor which could have lifted and maintained 1/8 of the world’s technology in the 60′s. I could only describe it as a beast of a phone. Samsung Galaxy delivers a bit more “umf” in its dual core processors. Still, King and Queen having enough power to rule the world in those Hippie days.
iPhone will power its self on the review ladder with a good 7/10.

BlackBerry

Is power always a factor? Well, in my experience thus far, the answer is no. BlackBerry’s 624MHz processor has done the job thus far and impresses me more and more every day. Handling my bulk mail with a breeze and multitasking is never an issue… You don’t have to have the Ferrari V12 to break the 4second 0-100km/h barrier. I would compare the BlackBerry engine to the ARIEL ATOM <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaWoo82zNUA>  It is very powerful under certain conditions, but only time will tell when memory becomes a problem.
BlackBerry gets a 7/10 as it tweaked its engine to meet up with the big boys.

Social Media

iPhone

Social media is an ever-growing aspect of life and becoming one of the largest industries world wide. Lets keep this short and sweet… Without the right applications, iPhone is useless when it comes to social networking. The apps I have used are very slow and lags, stalls and under-performs at times. I must also say that my 3G connection with my apps was all over the place and connectivity was random at times.
FaceBook this iPhone a 6/10.

BlackBerry

BlackBerry’s integrated social feed, Twitter app, and FaceBook integration with messages works like a charm. Its fast, accurate and user-friendly. With BBM replacing Skype, what more do you need for a social networking experience?
BlackBerry fights back strongly with an 8/10.

Verdict

Both phones are great phones but lets not sit on the wire and let’s see what the scores tally. BlackBerry came in as a middle-weight contender and did himself proud with a score of 50/70. Apple struck gold with its iPhone and delivered a black swan, in my opinion, within the communication market. I am not sold on the Iphone 4 and think competitors will take a slice on the iPhone 4’s share. Never the less, the iPhone is a unique product and had just too much fire power to score a cracking 51/70.

This does not say my BlackBerry will be swapped in on my next upgrade, it simply means I will wait for the next iPhone generation.

Thanks for reading my review.

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Question. What do Shrek, Dreamworks, Avatar and Sinbad have in common?

Linux.

Yes, since the turn of the century Linux has featured heavily in the production process of mainstream animated films, and in the special effects arena.

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas was the first hollywood production created entirely on Linux. While the original Shrek used Linux entirely for the rendering process, in Sinbad, the animaters worked directly on 250 Linux workstations.

Not a Traditional Role

While having a Linux render farm may not seem that odd, having the animators use Linux workstations is certainly surprising.

Unix, the precursor to Linux, has been used in Hollywood render farms for years. The 80′s iconoclassic Tron used Unix render farms to bring the special effects to life.

Having Linux on servers is not strange – most of the worlds web and application servers run Linux – so having a Linux render farm is not out of the ordinary. It does much deeper than that though.

Today Linux is used in everything from the design process right through to the rendering and printing on film of the end product.

Right now, designers are using a wide array of Linux based operating systems to bring us world class special effects. Desktops running anything from the completely free Ubuntu to the proprietary Red Hat Linux can be seen in offices of the big hitters in the entertainment industry.

Avatar used an entirely Ubuntu driven render farm to deliver each crisp image, for instance.

More than the Operating System

It is one thing to have your people use a Linux based operating system, what about the tools they use? Things like designing characters to actually building the three dimensional models and scenes require sophisticated software.

A lot of the three dimensional work used to be done using Maya. Maya is a 3D modeling and rendering suite. It is mainly Windows based, but can be built for Mac OS. There are known issues with Maya on Mac though.

Maya is also rather expensive, precluding the adoption by smaller studios and private users.

Enter Blender. Blender is free, and very powerful. Blender is also a rendering suite capable of rendering in many formats. The strength of blender is that it is not platform specific. You can have blender on anything from Windows to Solaris or Mac. That means that even if your designers work on Mac, your servers will be rendering the scenes they create using the same toolset.

Similar alternatives to many popular proprietary products exist as well.

Low Cost of Entry

The cost of entry when using Linux and other open source software for rendering is very low. Let us break down a typical Open Source software suite that would be used for basic 3D modeling:

Operating system: Ubuntu (Used on servers for Avatar) – Free.

Graphics Design Suite: GIMP. (Similar use to Photoshop) – Free.

3D Modeling and Rendering: Blender (Used on Spiderman 2 and by History Channel) – Free

Dreamworks cited the low cost of using Open Source software when they were able to open a fourth graphics pipeline to extend their studio capabilities. They were also able to use Linux based machines to temporarily extend their capabilities as needed. They called this expendable animation.

Extendability

Some graphics studios also use the open source tools as platforms to build their own customised toolsets on. GIMP is very popular for this, and the GIMPA Animation Package is a good example.

Studios often write python or other programs to do certain automated tasks with the open source tools they use. Both GIMP and Blender are modular in design, and plugins can be built to do certain tasks like exporting to a certain format, for instance.

Conclusion

There used to be an advertising campaign that proclaimed “Linux is everywhere.” With the very public adoption of Linux by large companies this is certainly becoming a reality. Amazon.com reported a 25% saving in the first year after moving their infrastructure to Linux in 2001, and that saving is ongoing. They also use Ubuntu for their cloud services today.

When taking into account the immediate savings associated with using Linux and certain Free Open Source tools as well as the long term savings year on year, there is little surprise when another large project uses Linux in various steps of production. From the desktop to the server, Linux is here to stay.

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